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2018-10-30 15:14:41

PZZA

Papa John's

$52.27

3.42 (7.00%)

15:14

10/30/18

10/30

15:14

10/30/18

15:14

Bain, CVC competing in bid to acquire Papa John's, Reuters says

Bain Capital and CVC Capital are among private equity firms competing for a bid to purchase Papa John's, Reuters reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The buyout interest in the pizza chain comes amid a battle for control with its founder John Schnatter, who owns roughly 30% of the company and stepped down as chairman in July following reports that he had used a racist slur on a media training conference call, the report notes. Trian Fund Management is also weighing a potential investment in Papa John's should a deal for the sale of the company fail to come to fruition, the report says. Shares of Papa John's are up 8.1% in afternoon trading. Reference Link

06

Nov

27

Nov

PZZAPapa John's

$52.27

3.42 (7.00%)

10/10/18

MAXM

10/10/18NO CHANGETarget $305MAXMHold

Domino's Pizza price target raised to $305 from $285 at Maxim

Maxim analyst Stephen Anderson raised his price target on Domino's Pizza (DPZ) to $305 after its investor meeting with the management last week, saying the company is "building a global fortress" and remains "unfazed" by competition. The analyst says Domino's Pizza should sustain its "best in class" performance in spite of the woes experienced by Papa John's (PZZA) and Pizza Hut (YUM) as it seeks more operational efficiencies on a "global scale" even though it may take a few quarters for cost savings to materialize. Anderson keeps his Hold rating on the shares, awaiting a deeper pullback before considering a more bullish stance.

10/10/18

BTIG

10/10/18NO CHANGETarget $102BTIGBuy

Yum! Brands price target raised to $102 from $92 at BTIG

BTIG analyst Peter Saleh raised his price target on Yum! Brands (YUM) to $102 and kept his Buy rating, citing his greater confidence in the company's unit growth trends and potential for driving same-store sales gains. In the short run, the analyst points to the benefits coming from its Pizza Hut business and its partnership with the NFL, its new advertising campaign, and the potential market share gains from sales declines at Papa John's (PZZA). Longer term, Saleh sees "stronger international unit growth after the closing of the Telepizza master franchise deal "which should drive unit growth closer to 4.0%", along with benefits coming from all of Yum's segments' partnership with GrubHub (GRUB).

Stifel analyst Chris O'Cull said he has a "conflicted" view on Papa John's because fundamentals remain poor, but this has likely motivated the board to move quickly to take advantage of a "white-hot restaurant M&A market." While stating he has "no knowledge of a potential M&A transaction," O'Cull believes a strategic acquirer seems more likely than financial sponsor given the latter would be difficult due to the level of equity investment required. O'Cull keeps a Hold rating on Papa John's shares, but raised his price target to $48 from $38 to reflect what he sees as a higher probability of a deal occurring.

10/15/18

LBOW

10/15/18NO CHANGELBOWBuy

Papa John's U.S. comps began to recover in mid-September, says Longbow

Longbow analyst Alton Stump believes, based on his talks with Papa John's franchisees, that U.S. same-store sales began to recover in mid-September and to-date in October, which could drive upside for both its earnings and the stock's multiple. Same-store sales, which were down 11.5%-12% in August, recovered to a 9%-9.5% decline in September and a 7.5%-8% decline in October to-date, Stump estimates. He keeps a Buy rating on Papa John's shares.

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